BSS :
EU energy ministers on Friday will attempt to forge a united response to the energy shock from Russia’s war on Ukraine that has sent prices for electricity and heating skyrocketing.
Moscow’s invasion has seen the price of natural gas hit record levels, throwing the EU economy into deep uncertainty with all eyes on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will cut off the energy flow entirely.
Before the war, 40 percent of the EU’s gas imports came from Russia, with most of the supply going to Germany, the bloc’s economic powerhouse that is now scrambling to come up with new ways to heat homes and power factories.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive, will ask the ministers meeting in Brussels to consider a series of highly complex proposals designed to ease the burden.
The main drive will be to find ways to compensate households and businesses that are struggling to pay their bills and keep activity going.
The EU executive will propose a mechanism that would see non-gas electricity companies, such as nuclear, solar or renewable firms, share windfall revenues won on the back of high prices for electric power.
